While the NFL continues its investigation into what Richie Incognito may have said to Jacksonville’s Yannick Ngakoue during Buffalo’s wild-card playoff loss on Jan. 7, the two men hashed things out earlier this week in Florida.

Ngakoue, the Jaguars defensive tackle who claimed in a tweet a few hours after Jacksonville’s 10-3 victory that Incognito directed a racial slur at him, was added to the AFC Pro Bowl squad as an injury replacement. Thus, he will be teammates with Incognito in the game Sunday.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, the only public comments Incognito has made about the incident, the Bills’ offensive guard said, “I saw him in the locker room, went up to him, said, ‘Good to finally meet you.’ I apologized for my part in this, and I said, ‘I hope we can get a drink here and I can get to know you better.’ He was cool. We shook hands and hugged it out.”

Ngakoue has declined to reveal what Incognito said to him on the field that day, and Incognito did not share what he said, or if he said anything. However, in his conversation with King, it seemed clear that Incognito must have uttered something offensive.

“What happened on the field that day is an exchange between two men in the setting of a football game,” Incognito said. “We’re gonna keep it between us. Out of peace and armistice, we are just going to keep it between us. It was important for me to be able to speak man-to-man with Yannick about it. It was a reminder how powerful our words can be. But it gets crazy out there. Real crazy. Things are said and done on the football field that are never said off the field, never seen off the field. What happens on the football field very often is not a reflection of who we are as people.”

Depending on what the NFL’s investigation turns up, Incognito could face punishment in the form of a suspension or fine, or both. However, it appears his spot on the Bills’ roster will be secure.

At their season-ending press conference on Jan. 9, two days after Ngakoue’s initial tweet, Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane would not comment specifically on the matter because the team, and the league, were still early in the investigation process.

“We’re always going to support our players,” said Beane. When asked directly if Incognito could be released by the team if it was discovered he used a racial slur, Beane said, “It’s really early, so for me to – it would totally be speculation, to be honest with you.”

Incognito, of course, was suspended for half of the 2013 season by the Dolphins for his role in the bullying scandal involving former Miami offensive lineman Jonathan Martin. Incognito then sat out the entire 2014 season as every NFL team considered him toxic.

The Bills brought him out of exile in 2015, Rex Ryan’s first year as head coach, and since then, Incognito had revamped his image, not to mention earned three straight invitations to the Pro Bowl. Still, this incident has likely set back that rehabilitation.

“I have had the support of my teammates, and my friends on the Jacksonville squad who know me,” Incognito said. “I understand there’s a part of the population who hate my guts, and there’s nothing I can do or say to them that will change their minds. But the people who know me, and the people who respect me, those are the only people I really care about. And I think they know the real me.”

► I wasn’t down in Mobile, Alabama for Senior Bowl week and thus have not met new Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, but even from 1,200 miles away, it’s clear to me the Buffalo native and former University of Rochester football player who graduated with a degree in economics is happy to be back home.

“It means everything,” he said. “I’m a Buffalo guy. From the communities around the stadium to the Rochester area, it’s a really special place for me. It’s where I grew up. The people, the community are second to none. They’re unbelievable; City of Good Neighbors for a reason. Great food, as you can tell. I love the place. I love the community. I love the people. I love the fans. I love the team. Very special place for me.”

Now, let’s hope some of his Patriots and University of Alabama championship mojo — the man has five Super Bowl rings and a national title with the Crimson Tide this past year — rubs off on the Bills.

Brian Daboll spent one year at Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide win a national championship.(Photo: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)

► It sure seems like the tide is turning on Buffalo trading up to draft a quarterback. The price to get to the third or fourth overall pick from the Bills’ back-to-back spots at 21 and 22 — let alone getting up to the first or second pick — is going to be enormous, and given the value McDermott and Beane clearly place on draft picks, I’m starting to think the Bills aren’t going to gut their draft to make the move.

“You want a franchise quarterback. Everybody does,” Beane said a few weeks ago. “I said that back when I got here. It’s a quarterback league. Where you get it, I really don’t care. If you give me one, whether he’s on the street now, whether he’s a free agent, whether I draft him, I’ll take one anywhere.”

► It was no surprise to me that Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield made a good impression on the field during Senior Bowl practices. I know he was measured at just a tick over 6-feet tall which is not ideal in the NFL, but he seems like a player who will transcend his measurables because he’s a gamer.

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy, who played at Alabama and had a very brief career as an NFL backup, told buffalobills.com this week, “Baker Mayfield might be one of the best college quarterbacks we’ve seen in some time. But is he going to be able to mold into the traditional style of offense? Or do you want to create an offensive mentality involving RPOs and involving some of those zone read concepts that he ran so effectively at Oklahoma? I would expect to see all four of those guys to come off the board a lot earlier than most project because there are so many quarterback needy teams in the top 10. If I was an owner or a head coach I would absolutely roll the dice on Mayfield. In a heartbeat because I know how much the game means to him.”

► Bringing back Kyle Williams, if he decides not to retire, would be a solid optical move for the Bills, but the two most important unrestricted free agents they need to re-sign are cornerbacks E.J. Gaines and Leonard Johnson.

Things came together very nicely in the all-new secondary, and safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, and rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White garnered most of the praise as they combined for 14 interceptions. However, somewhat overlooked was the play of Gaines, and you can do worse than Johnson at nickel corner. Gaines has battled injuries his whole four-year career, so his market value will be diminished, and Johnson will not be coveted in the open market, and as a former Carolina Panther, he has deep ties to McDermott and Beane.

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